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" From the start, Mr. Smitherman’s team suffered from being a “big tent” affair with myriad advisers from across the political spectrum. His strategists knew the election was fast becoming a referendum on Mayor David Miller’s approach to governing, set against a backdrop of economic uncertainty and irritation over tax hikes and political perks. Polling data showed the city was deeply split over Mr. Miller’s record. But Mr. Smitherman and his brain trust couldn’t decide which side of the urban divide they wanted to win over. When they finally placed their bets, it was too late.
In many ways, Mr. Smitherman put himself at a disadvantage from the outset, says Ryerson University politics professor Myer Siemiatycki: He played a quiet, cagey campaign early on, let his opponents set the agenda and failed to adequately set himself apart afterwards.
“He needed to more pointedly and directly try to puncture the assumption that the city was totally broken down and in need of a major overhaul. Because once he conceded that, he could not win ... He could not sell himself as the better fixer.”
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" From the start, Mr. Smitherman’s basically centrist instincts posed a challenge for his campaign. Some advisers, citing an early internal poll showing surprisingly strong support for Mr. Miller and the progressive approach, argued for a left-leaning campaign. Others wanted Mr. Smitherman to lean right, promising, for example, to privatize garbage collection................"
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" When Mr. Smitherman launched his campaign in early September, his “recalibrated” image (a waste fighter who’d freeze taxes for a year and personally lead a search-and-destroy mission for fiscal flab) reflected Mr. Marzolini’s assessment of the problem: Mr. Ford’s rap sheet didn’t matter because the groundswell behind him was “like a 1960s protest,” he said.
“To take on Rob Ford, you have to take him on in his environment.”
He urged Mr. Smitherman to revisit the pugilistic persona he’d cultivated when the Liberals were in opposition. “When you’re going up against Ford,” Mr. Marzolini said, “you have to be yourself.”
Mr. Marzolini admits he never set foot in Mr. Smitherman’s campaign office, and his advice bothered some strategists who felt the candidate was abandoning his natural centre-left constituency in a bid to out-Ford Mr. Ford.,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
On the hustings, Mr. Smitherman increasingly set aside Mr. Marzolini’s recommendations and talked up his “progressive” values and positive vision, messages reinforced by a parade of high profile endorsements, mainly drawn from Toronto’s well-heeled political class and Mr. Smitherman’s cabinet contacts...............
" “City’s big,” he declared, as the vehicle crawled through side streets. “Holy lord, it’s big. You think you know the city well, and then you run for mayor ….”更多精彩文章及讨论,请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net